Fish Biomarkers, Suitable Tools For Water Quality Monitoring

Abstract

A large number of biomarkers and indicator organisms have been suggested for the assessment of ecotoxicity of man-made compounds on
aquatic environments. The physiological and biochemical indices in fishes are sensitive for detecting potential toxic effects, and also are obvious
from the same reports that studies on the impact of pollutants on the physiological and biochemical status of aquatic organisms. In an
attempt to define and measure the effect of pollutants on an ecosystem, biomarkers have attracted a lot of interest. The underlying principle
of the biomarker approach is the analysis of an organism’s physiological or biochemical response to pollutant exposure. The measurement of
biochemical and physiological parameters is a diagnostic tool commonly used in aquatic toxicology and bio-monitoring, so Hematological
and immunological parameters are suitable biomarkers in mercury studies. During stress, fish respond in a number of ways in order to regain
homeostasis and two important physiological processes which are modulated when fish are exposed to stress, are hormonal status and immune
function. In this paper, our previous research's on effects of different pollutants (heavy metals, pesticides, nano particles, organic pollutants and
etc.) on many fish species (marine and freshwater) was studied to detect new biomarkers (enzymatic, hormonal, immunological, hematological,
histopathological and etc.) for water quality monitoring. In this study we examined markers of hematology, enzyme, hormone and histopathology
in different fishes. The aim of this study was to test a multi-trial biomarker approach for evaluating toxicological risk due to the major
toxicant in the water, using fishes as bio-indicator organism. The main objectives of this researches were: to identify the tissues and biological
materials useful for biomarker studies; to evaluate various biochemical biomarkers in different tissues; to identify the most suitable biomarkers
for evaluating chemical stress due to the contaminants explored in this study.